More than 60 percent of Americans have unused medications in their homes, and 70 percent of people who misuse opioid painkillers say they first got them from a friend or family member.
Disposing of unused medication can be challenging when you don’t know the proper methods to take and want to avoid unintentionally causing an environmental hazard.
To help Nevadans rid their homes of unused drugs, UnitedHealthcare’s Health Plan of Nevada recently distributed 10,000 medication disposal kits throughout the state.
The disposal kits, which can hold up to 45 pills, contain chemical agents that neutralize the drugs and allow them to be safely disposed in the trash.
“We’re going to distribute these kits to Nevadans for the safe disposal of medications that people have in their homes that aren’t being used,” said Yenh Long, deputy director of the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy. “There is a good chance unused drugs can be misused by children or others. So it is really important to get rid of these drugs in safe and effective manner.”
Several hundred kits were distributed to Health Plan of Nevada employees, and the remaining kits were donated to the state through the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy.